Fuel handling systems on aircrafts include tubing assemblies that have sections of metallic and/or non-metallic composite tubing coupled to one another by adjustable connectors. The systems can include support devices that attach the tubing assemblies to aircraft structures, such as wing structures, which move or vibrate relative to other aircraft structures during normal flight. The adjustable connectors permit tubing fitted therein to move or vibrate, thereby permitting the associated aircraft structure to move without applying additional loads to the same or restricting its normal motion.
Moreover, typical fuel handling systems further include an electrical bonding system, which safely transmits electrical charges that would otherwise build and collect in the adjustable connectors and associated fuel handling components. In particular, lightning strikes and the conveyance of fuel through the tubing can create an electrical potential between the tubing and the aircraft skin or structure, which can result in an electrical discharge in the form of a spark that can damage certain aircraft components. The electrical bonding system electrically connects the adjustable connectors and remaining fuel handling components to the electrical bonding grid of the aircraft. In this way, the electrical bonding system can safely transmit the electrical charges that are generated and collected in the fuel handling systems and thus prevent the associated spark that can damage the aircraft.
The adjustable connectors can facilitate the conveyance of fluid, while permitting vibrations, flow of electro-static currents and thermal expansion and contraction, when the adjustable connectors are properly installed in fully engaged positions and remain fully engaged during normal operation of the aircraft. Installation of these adjustable connectors can require access to a significant number of narrow spaces within aircraft structures. In this respect, it can be somewhat cumbersome to confirm the proper connection between tubing sections of the fluid handling system. It would therefore be desirable to provide a bulkhead connector assembly that fully connects mating tubing sections of a fluid handling system and provides one or more forms of feedback that confirm the connection between those tubing sections.